The manager got the big calls right. Moussa Dembele’s form has shaded recently, while Leigh Griffiths has been scoring freely, so the latter was the form horse. Not only did Moussa score the equaliser, Newco found it impossible to deal with him throughout.
His circumference of control with the ball at his feet is considerable. I’m not going to burden him with the ‘new Dalglish’ tag, but that ability to shield the ball in tight areas takes me back to my early days watching Celtic. Kenny did this to great effect, creating space for others as he used his strength and close-control to create havoc.
Kenny Millar’s opening goal had been in the post from the first minute as Newco pressurised Celtic off their game. They were the team forcing mistakes of nervous looking defenders (I’m looking at you, Erik). Celtic just didn’t get going early on as the home team controlled midfield with Barrie McKay in particular causing problems.
The turning point came around the time Scott Brown picked up his yellow card (deservedly). It was a typically-calculated Brown intervention.
Moussa’s goal was quite unbelievable. The corner came from a breakaway chance when Scott Sinclair seemed to lose the opportunity by standing on the ball, but recovered to run at the Newco defence before firing a shot which was deflected onto the inside of the post before being knocked behind by a defender for a corner.
Dembele was standing 8 yards out when a high corner fell to his feet. Unchallenged. The ball bounced head-height but Moussa still had time to wait on it falling before finishing into the top corner.
Danny Wilson was marking him when the corner was taken but for reasons all too evident to those who have followed the player’s recent form, he left Celtic’s striker to challenge players already marked. It was an unfathomable mistake.
From that moment on, there was only going to be one result. Celtic should have gone ahead three times in the opening nine minutes of the second half. Their passing was now crisp and fast. Sinclair and Armstrong’s movement made defenders look statuesque.
One stat I’d like to see is the number of touches we had inside the opposition box. We spent a lot of time in there, pinging tight passes, which opened up the home defence. Dembele, Forrest, Sinclair and Armstrong should all have added to the score but Foderingham made himself big throughout and stopped the result from being as embarrassing as the performance.
Forrest made way for Patrick Roberts, who, at his first involvement, released Armstrong with a reverse pass into the box. Celtic had been in this position many times in the minutes beforehand. Their format was to cut the ball back, which is what we were all expecting Armstrong to do, but he released the ball a fraction of a second early across the face of goal for Sinclair to side-foot into the net at the far post.
Craig Gordon had a few comfortable saves, which he dealt with assuredly. Sviatchenko made up for two early poor touches by making the tackle of the game to deny Forrester. Emilio Izaguirre put in his best 45 minutes of the season in the second half; he looked like the player who arrived six years ago.
Mikael Lustig sprinted 40 yards across field to cut-out a breakaway inside the box. Big Jozo Simunovic must be wondering when kick-off is, he didn’t break sweat.
Off-piste mention to Leigh Griffiths, who was warming up behind the goal when the guy who kept him out the team picked himself up off the turf after a fruitless effort. Leigh stepped forward and patted his team-competitor on the back three times while shouting encouragement.
Great team-mates make great teams.
Have a Happy New Year, everyone.
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From such a noisy environment to almost total silence.
Looked pretty good to me. Well done guys.
HH.
HT@8:03
Celtic should tell this mob to shove their silence, they are only intent in one outcome, we should be telling them that our support will applause for a minute instead, like a lot of the continentals do.
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO
Completely I agree many with your sentiments about having to play that lot. Also good to hear you had a great time with the family
Enjoy the return to work, I have new Scandinavian employers, they go back on the 2nd then have the 6th off. Nice
Gerryfaethebrig
Na I much prefer trying not to bite!
The wean is loving especially the away games so hopefully it lasts!
A seat on the board? Gerry I can hardly think of anything worse than sitting in a board meeting :-)
PRESTONPANS BHOYS
Sadly an ex captain of the Valiants died at the age of 42 a few days before Christmas and at the Boxing day fixture we had a minutes applause.
HT 8.16
Exactly, more sense in a room full of school kids than any boardroom
Delighted your daughter is enjoying watching the hoops with her dad (hopefully in the future it might happen to me :-)
I am actually sure it will, she went bonkers yesterday when I told her Dembelle scored she argues with me Dembelle is better than Griffiths (because Dembelle wears 10 her birthday) and she knows I love the Griff
HUNDERBIRDSARE GONE
Thanks for the info, passed on. I will keep you updated. Know that Denis has had a shunt, and was pleased to hear the score from Castle Greyskull. A good sign as he didn’t know his wife a few days ago.
In case anyone hasn’t seen this video clip of Moussa being racially abused yesterday,
https://youtu.be/GEL73qgQ6tI
SFTB – Myrrh – Glasgow existentialism.
I know my Sartre, Being and Nothingness, i even read Huis Clos in French.
But I don’t get it – put me out of my misery
Gerryfaethebrig
Fingers crossed it happens for you and your daughter soon mate.
Hello again all you young rebels.
A happy New Year to one and all.
Great night in the park for the kiddies fireworks, hoopies everywhere
and we even managed to acquire those fluorescent light thingmymobs
all in green and white, it was spectacular, and when the band played
…just can’t get enough… the place erupted, and just like brendan i’m
now nursing a calf strain and a sore back with trying to dance with the
weans.
Well done the Celts overcoming the dark deeds of that nefarious mob
of liars , thieves , and conmen.
H.H Mick
Timreaper- no surprise when i seen it mate, from those bastions of the moral high ground HH
Wow, just watched titanic the new evidence
All about the money, the craft
Enquiry
As Jim royale would say enquiry my ar@@
Makes you think. What chance have we got
MILD MANNERED PEDRO DELGADO
just watched Lord Nimmo Smith the new evidence – in ma dreams
Gene
Exactly mate
Bournistoncfc
Melbourne Mick
Hope you have a great 2017
HT
I am playing the long game, she already knows Sevco are cheats and don’t pay their bills, she uses “us & them” but the final decision will always be hers :-)
Just watched the BBC highlights.
The Miller goal was offside. So 2-0 then :)))
I HEARD THERS A NEW BATHROOM RANGE ON SHOW DOWN IBOGS WAY ANY PICS??
GERRYFAETHEBRIG.
Right back at you Gerry.
H.H Mick
A pissed idiot shouts during a minute silence
So what …there are eejits everywhere …the fact that it is considered worthy of comment by the MSM is embarrassing
Best ignored ..what anti CFC stories they don’t have they make up
Pfayr,
i was thinking the exact same,
if that is the best they can come up with
then you know they are struggling.
No comments on their vile songbook either
RESPECT is a two way thing. Do you sing up to your knees in Fenian Blood a minute before a minutes silence request. Well done us Bhoys. – that was a set up
I know we as a club might have some idiots (I was one of them a few years back) but that mob are steeped in hatred no matter religion, colour or creed …….
Fellow Celtic fans we live in good times
Melbourne Mick cheers
Looking forward to your posts in 2017 about the wee mhan….
Cqn is a good place
got to pinch myself still to thinking we’re better without KC. He got us out of the mire many times. SA, SS, broonie have rendered KC without a role in the first 11.
Bottom Left:
https://mobile.twitter.com/AgentScotland/status/815532076111896576/photo/1
‘Hurley from’Lost’ heckles Celtic skipper.
BBC highlights miss out half the CFC chances on goal …Foderingham made three or four good saves…not one is shown
Watching those highlights you could have been forgiven for thinking it was a tight game …all part of the narrative
Daft Huns fall for it every time. …..keep up the good work MSM … You were instrumental in the death of Rangers …
16 Roads
My mate always puts a double on which needs 3 goals and 12 corners so he was loving the way they got racked up at the end.
The Express reporting Chelsea are preparing a £60m bid for Virgil,
wonder how many pennies we would pick up if that goes through
Hamiltontim
Did I dispute your assertion that that mob actually broke the silence. I was pointing out to notthebus that he may have used the phrase….. further broke the silence …..in relation to the eejit who cried out for Bobby Sands.
The shout was plainly heard and I don’t need any witnesses to confirm it.
As it stands I thought that the more republican minded among the Celtic supporters there yesterday missed a trick by not devoting their silence to the volunteer who approached the border town on that dreary New Year’s Eve sixty years ago and subsequently died from his wounds on the 1st January 1957
Maybe a shout of Sean South and a song to his memory at the conclusion of the silence would have been more appropriate than some eejit crying out for Bobby Sands
Phyllis D
If a joke needs explained – it always loses but….
Myrrh = Am ur (in Glaswegian) = I am (in Received Pronunciation)
I wasn’t trying to be true to Sartre’s explanation- just a very small joke
Phlis D
“I know my Sartre, Being and Nothingness, i even read Huis Clos in French. ”
That was translated into Glaswegian as “Shuggy’s Close”
GORDYBHOY64
Just £5million
I blame Peter Lawell CSC
Mickbhoy1888 9.46
Am afraid nothing is appropriate in a minutes silence
And am sure Sean South or Bobby Sands would feel much the same ……
66 people passed away that went to the football and didn’t come home, am afraid the way I was brought up that’s not right ……….if others want to point score fair enough, it’s not the people that passed or their families and who cares what team they supported
MICKBHOY1888 on 1ST JANUARY 2017 9:46 PM
Hamiltontim
Did I dispute your assertion that that mob actually broke the silence. I was pointing out to notthebus that he may have used the phrase….. further broke the silence …..in relation to the eejit who cried out for Bobby Sands.
The shout was plainly heard and I don’t need any witnesses to confirm it.
As it stands I thought that the more republican minded among the Celtic supporters there yesterday missed a trick by not devoting their silence to the volunteer who approached the border town on that dreary New Year’s Eve sixty years ago and subsequently died from his wounds on the 1st January 1957
Maybe a shout of Sean South and a song to his memory at the conclusion of the silence would have been more appropriate than some eejit crying out for Bobby Sands
—–
Your use of the word ‘further’ is interesting because it wasn’t used in your original post. Had you used it initially, my response would have been different.
Had the Celtic support responded at the cessation of the silence with a rendition of Sean South, there’s a real chance that someone would be receiving a chap on the door from Police Scotland in the coming weeks or months.
Down with that sort of thing.
BSR,
not good enough,get that man sacked
6 Million if Virgil goes to Chelsea.
That Fenian Mrs Brown is now on
Hopefully in the next few hours I get the first “deleted” post of 2017, seemingly am 8/1 on Paddy Power, ACGR is around 11/8
Good odds for both :-)
Well done that Tim